Police arrested four Arab men between the ages of 15 and 20 on Thursday night, following suspicions that they had thrown stones at a vehicle in Jerusalem which left two-year-old Abigail Ben-Zion injured.
In what police believed to be a nationalistically-motivated attack, reports emerged on Thursday that a two-year-old toddler was wounded from an object that was thrown at a car that she was riding in, in the Armon Hanatziv area of Jerusalem on Thursday evening.

Police national spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said that the police believed the attack was nationalistically motivated. Rosenfeld said that the area Tzur Baher, adjacent to the attack site, was being searched for the perpetrators. He added that stones were thrown on Thursday at a number of vehicles in the area.
Magen David Adom paramedics treated the girl at the scene on Asher Weiner street and transported her to hospital at Hadassah University Medical Center in the city, in moderate condition.
MDA said that the toddler was not fully conscious when they arrived at the scene but that her condition improved on the way to the hospital.
The girl, who was stabilized at the hospital, suffered a head injury.
The girl was riding in the back seat of her family's car with her two brothers when the attack occurred.
Following the attack, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat called for increasing criminal sanctions on stone-throwers.
Barkat also visited the injured toddler in hospital and spoke with the victim's family.
"It must be made clear to everyone that a stone is a weapon for all intents and purposes and it must be viewed this way," Barkat said.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu related to the rock attack as well, pledging Thursday night that Israel would bring the assailants to justice.
"We will protect our city," he said.

Children across the country will get a shorter summer vacation from school starting next year, according to a plan announced by the Ministry of Education together with Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein’s International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (ICFJ) on Thursday.

Under the plan, from July 1 to July 21, young people studying to become teachers and teachers who choose to, will take over the schools and conduct activities designed to awaken pupils’ creativity such as workshops for reading and writing, sessions on community involvement, environmental education, interactive learning as well as sports, among others. Activities will also revolve around learning about social values.

The initiative, entitled “Schools of Summer”, joins other efforts of Education Minister Shai Piron to ensure that the education system takes responsibility for pupils even when they are not at school. These include this past summer’s ‘Educators around the Clock’ program, a collaboration between the ministry, teachers, local authorities and NGOs which offered a range of activities for students to partake in during the summer.

Senior Vice President of the IFCJ Yael Eckstein told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday that the initiative, which she called “historic,” would help children but also parents across the country.

“The children we have helped and continue to help, often come from single parent households that earn the minimum wage,” she said, “Their mum works a double shift to put food on the table and she doesn’t have time to occupy them.”

Eckstein added that the new project will improve the everyday lives of these families during the summer months.

“I know they worry about this all year long,” she said.

The Fellowship already begun tackling the issue this past summer by establishing summer camps in 50 different communities across the country for children from low-income families to enjoy during the break, close to NIS 16 million were spent on the project.

Eckstein also explained that in partnering with the state on projects such as the summer school, the Fellowship seeks to “enable the government to help more people”

“We don’t want to give funds on projects that would be happening either way,” she said, “The only way the Fellowship would partner with the government on projects is if the government needs extra funds in order to carry out the project.”

“We don’t want to take over the government’s responsibility, we want to fill the gaps,” she added, “My goal is to have projects here in Israel that no one else is doing and get to the people that no one else is getting to.”

The project aims to provide a solution for working parents who are struggling to find arrangements and improvise activities for their children during the summer months.

“This is not just a pilot program, it’s a revolution,” Education Minister Piron said on Thursday.

“Education includes every child everywhere, all year round,” he added, “The 'Schools of Summer' [plan] gives an appropriate and optimized solution to the needs of teachers, parents and pupils.”

XALAPA , Ver - The Attorney General of Veracruz ( PGJE ) confirmed that two priests of the parish of the municipality of San Cristóbal Ixhuatlán Madero , in the Huasteca Veracruzana , were killed in the early hours of Friday.

The killing of the priests Hipólito Villalobos Lima and Nicolás Martínez Cruz comes less than two months after the complaint made by the Bishop of Apatzingán , Michoacan, Miguel Patiño Velasquez, in the sense that organized crime has taken over and corrupted mayors police officers in the state.According to the attorney general of Veracruz, Amadeo Flores Espinoza, this afternoon were arrested four people who could be linked to the murder of the bishops , one of whom was stabbed to death and the other by asphyxiation.The state official explained that the first data that have shed that members of the Catholic Church were executed inside the rectory , located a few meters from the City Hall and police headquarters." As a panel investigating officers to fully clarify the facts are integrated . The four people arrested are already paying his statement to the prosecution , "said the prosecutor in a statement .Separately, the Diocese of Tuxpan , Veracruz , said the priests were found dead in the " parish " church ." With deep sorrow we communicate the information received by the father Humberto Arce : Parents of the parish of San Cristobal in Ixhuatlán de Madero , Veracruz, ( ... ) were found this morning , murdered in the parish ," he said in a statement .Father Hippolytus took possession of the church of San Cristóbal Ixhuatlán on December 3, 2012 , and that same year arrived in the parish vicar Nicholas Cruz .On 28 September, a priest was attacked with a machete by a subject when I went to receive the Eucharist , in the municipality of City Island, also in Veracruz.The incident occurred when the pastor gave Tomas Alonso Martinez Mass at the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus , located opposite the council offices .Parishioners were formed to receive the Eucharist , and when he tried to give it to a man, this took a machete and attacked the priest , who was shouting " ' antichrist " and had gone to the temple to do justice .The priest was admitted to a clinic in town with deep lesions in the left arm and leg , in addition to head injuries , which did not endanger his life.The attacker, identified as Fernando "N " El Gato , was arrested by members of the Municipal Police, who determined that when the attack was under the influences of drugs .On 15 October, the Bishop of Apatzingán , Michoacan, Miguel Patiño Velasquez, published a letter in which he indicated that organized crime has taken over city halls and corrupted cops.In this letter , the prelate gave his vote of confidence in the authorities to end the scourge of insecurity, but questioned the few results so far .In addition, on October 31 led a pilgrimage to pray for peace in the town .The fact caused various reactions , including the bishop was guarded by soldiers in military facilities XLIII area before an imminent attack by organized crime.In this sense , the pastor in charge of the cathedral Apatzingán , Salvador González , announced that at least seven priests of the urban region of the municipality have suffered threats and pressure from organized crime groups .In the letter, Patiño Velasquez said that although it's small communities and know who the criminals are , no one has done anything.Authorities possibly know where the criminals are , because "it is not a matter of now or is mysterious ," he said .In Tamaulipas , the pastor Carlos Ornelas Puga disappeared since last Sunday in March and so far no one knows his whereabouts.According to a spokesman for the Catholic Church of the entity , the priest assigned to the Diocese of Ciudad Victoria was deprived of his liberty by a group of armed men when he finished a Mass in the town of Jimenez.The Tamaulipas authorities , he said , ignored the complaint filed with the Attorney General of the state, and was only four days after plagiarism when they decided to act .He said that on 7 November a convoy of state police was sent to the village to investigate the incident, but the soldiers were ambushed .In another development , the cleric Santiago Alvarez Figueroa disappeared Dec. 27 while heading to the community of Walls, in the town of Jiquilpan , Michoacan, after a Mass officiated .Authorities have ruled that the disappearance of the religious has been the product of a car accident and even he and the vehicle were searched traveling on roads and canyons of the area , to no avail .After the disappearance of the priest, the Diocese of Zamora explained that the last time he knew the priest was on December 27 , at the stroke of 21:00 pm , when contacted by telephone to tell a nun bound for Walls by federal Highway , where all traces were lost.In this situation , religious , priests , family and faithful of the region and Jacona Jiquilpan have organized to try to find the cleric .He was also filed a criminal complaint with the Regional Attorney for Zamora , who is investigating the disappearance , no progress so far.In the government of Felipe Calderón were killed 12 priests , about 162 were threatened with death in one year and about a thousand were victims of extortion, according to a study by the Catholic Church, entitled "Increased aggression against priests in Mexico ."Manuel Corral , spokesman for the Mexican Episcopal Conference ( CEM ), the governing body of the Catholic hierarchy said with concern : " The organized crime groups seek to intimidate everyone. Already have under their control to many government and police authorities. Now try to break the ecclesiastical authorities , to all who may have some religious leadership. "The states with the highest incidence of crimes against priests are the Federal District , Chihuahua , Guerrero , Jalisco , Oaxaca , Veracruz , Michoacán , Hidalgo , Aguascalientes, Coahuila and Puebla.Read more: http://www.elblogdelnarco.net/2013/11/ejecutan-2-sacerdotes-en-veracruz-caen.html # ixzz2m9ClmQufFollow us : @ MundoNarco on Twitter

Friday, November 29, 2013

Thanks to his determination to portray their uncontrolled life through their Facebook accounts .The escalation of violence in Mexico is taking almost fanciful trimmings, scandal , where those who live outside the law no longer hide from the public eye to help extol narco image as an almost mythical figure in Mexican society: if Broly Banderas is clear proof of this .Antonio Banderas - Broly or Olalde , his real name who took his nickname from " Legendary Super Saiyan " from the anime Dragon Ball is a dangerous sign attached to the Knights Templar hitman who has been called " the most famous assassin of networks social " for their constant activity in their Facebook accounts .In them we see a young man between 25 and 35 years old , flaunting a lifestyle of excess and violence plagued ' selfies ' holding pistols and automatic weapons , trucks, luxury , money , and alcohol are part of the album photo of Priest native Michoacán." They advertise their activities , conduct public relations campaigns . Basically have become their own media company , "says Antoine Nouvet , member of ' Empowerment Initiative ' project that seeks to document how social networks provide a unique public space for individuals and groups to promote their ideas.For many, this new form of communication undertaken by the drug cartels seems to be part of a strategy to change the negative image or at least the perception , widespread drug trafficking and all the consequences this entails.Read more: http://www.elblogdelnarco.net/2013/11/broly-banderas-sicario-del-narco-y.html # ixzz2m3WGBdYGFollow us : @ MundoNarco on Twitter

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Published at 7:33 am EST, November 28, 2013

Two Central American migrants headed for the United States were killed and a third was injured when criminals threw them off the freight train they were riding in the Mexican Gulf state of Veracruz, officials said.
The incident occurred early Tuesday in San Juan Evangelista, a city in the southern part of Veracruz.
The migrants were attacked after they refused to pay “tolls” to other men riding the train, the Veracruz Attorney General’s Office said.
Criminals threw three of the migrants, whose nationality was not released, from the moving train, killing two of them, the AG’s office said.
The train cut off the third Central American’s foot, the AG’s office said.
Another group of men aboard the train staged the attack, the injured Central American told investigators.
Central American migrants headed for the United States often ride on the freight train known as “La Bestia,” or “The Beast.”
An estimated 300,000 Central Americans undertake the hazardous journey across Mexico each year on their way to the United States.
The trek is a dangerous one, with criminals and corrupt Mexican officials preying on the migrants.
Gangs kidnap, exploit and murder migrants, who are often targeted in extortion schemes, Mexican officials say.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Alec Baldwin has had his final meltdown at MSNBC.
The rage-aholic’s weekly show, “Up Late With Alec Baldwin,” was canceled Tuesday because of the actor’s foul-mouthed, homophobic rant at a New York Post photographer.
Baldwin’s spokesman Matthew Hiltzik and a rep for the cable channel said, “We are jointly confirming that ‘Up Late’ will not continue on MSNBC.” The MSNBC spokeswoman added, “This is a mutual parting and we wish Alec all the best.”

Baldwin was suspended — supposedly for two weeks — after he screamed at a Post photographer, calling him a “c—s—ing faggot.” The “30 Rock” star was supposed to resume his weekly show Friday.
But his latest rant, which drew fire from gay-rights organizations, gave the NBC Universal bosses a great excuse to cancel a show that wasn’t working anyway, after just four episodes.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Police said Friday they have arrested a man for assault after he broke into an apartment and cut off a sleeping woman’s underwear.
According to police, the suspect, identified as Yoshiaki Kurosaka, a 33-year-old advertising company employee, broke into the apartment of a 30-year-old woman in Tokyo’s Toshima Ward at around 6:45 a.m. on Sept 21. TBS quoted police as saying that he crept into the woman’s bedroom and cut off her underwear with a pair of scissors. The woman awoke screaming in fright, prompting her assailant to flee.
Police were able to identify Kurosaka from surveillance camera footage of him leaving the apartment block, TBS reported.
Police said that although Kurosaka admitted to breaking into the woman’s apartment, he has denied any intent to commit sexual assault. He was quoted as saying, “I don’t remember even touching her.”
The woman told police she had never met Kurosaka.

TUCSON - Tucson Police just held a news conference providing further detail about the child imprisonment investigation that started Tuesday morning.
According to Captain Mike Gillooly:

Two girls-- 12 and 13 years old-- went to a neighbor for help at 4 a.m. Tuesday reporting that their step dad had threatened them with a knife. They reported that they had been held captive for two years.
Police responded to the home and found another teen, aged 17, in the home.
Officers discovered the children in filthy condition. Gillooly said they they hadn't bathed in 3 to 6 months. Gillooly said two of the minors were kept from the third for 2 years

Monday, November 25, 2013

Friday, 22 November 2013

Washington - Congress is pressing for the release of Iranian-American pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen who has been imprisoned in Iran for his religious beliefs since September 2012.

Mohabat News - On Wednesday (Nov. 20) the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved a bipartisan resolution condemning Iran's persecution of religious minorities and urging Abedini's immediate release. The resolution will now go to the full House.

The Senate unanimously passed a similar resolution Nov. 14.

The U.S. and Iran are conducting talks in Geneva aimed at reining in Iran's nuclear program, and those backing Abedini hope the time is right for his freedom.

"It is important especially with the nuclear negotiations in Geneva that Congress speak out with one voice on behalf of pastor Abedini in support of his immediate release," said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican.

The House and Senate resolutions follow Abedini's transfer from Evin Prison, a facility for political prisoners, to Rajai Shahr Prison. He is now held in a ward for rapists and murderers, according to the American Center for Law and Justice, a law firm that represents Abedini's wife, Nagmeh. Abedini has been allowed visits from his Iranian family, who have confirmed he is alive.

The Iranian government sentenced Abedini to eight years in prison after convicting him of "undermining" the government by spreading his religious beliefs. Abedini had previously worked with house churches in Iran; in 2012 he helped at an orphanage and visited family.

Smith said that Abedini promised the Iranian government he would not proselytize — and that Abedini had upheld his side of the bargain.

Since his arrest, Abedini has endured beatings causing internal bleeding and has had medical care withheld, according to the ACLJ.

His wife and two children await his return.

Abedini's persecution is part of a wider policy against religious minorities in Iran, Smith said.

President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have both spoken out for Abedini's release. / wwrn

Atheists in San Diego, Calif. are trying a new approach to recruiting non-believers by offering food, such as pretzels and cheezits, and putting up large banners that read "Relax: hell does not exist, or heaven either, enjoy your life."
The atheists are members of the San Diego-based group the San Diego Coalition of Reason, and every Saturday they set up a booth in the city's Balboa Park alongside other religious groups, such as Hare Krishnas and evangelical Christians, to educate passerby on their lack of beliefs. Along with the quirky banner that hangs over their booth, members of the group also lure people into a conversation using pretzels and Cheezits; the pretzels are used to symbolized the "twisted logic" of theism, while the cheezits represent the "power" of non-belief.
"We like to have a gathering place for our members, people that want to chat, get to know each other, they can come do that on any Saturday," Debbie Allen, one of the organizers for the atheist group, told local KPBS-TV. "But also we like to let the community know that there are groups that they may want to participate in."
Additionally, Jim Eliason, another organizer for the group, told the local media outlet that their group is not afraid of being aggressive in their beliefs.
"We're constantly fighting to get religion out of our schools, constantly fighting to get the teaching of creationism out of our schools," he said. "So if we can de-convert people away from these religious ideas that keep them stuck in this dogma that forces them to believe these things, that's a moment of pure joy for us."

Posted on: 24th November, 2013

HRANA News Agency – A prison guard who was trying to protect the prisoners in ward 350 of Evin prison was beaten by his commander. According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the authorities have ordered the prisoners to go to clinic with a soldier since last month. An informed source told HRANA’s reporter: “A soldier who was responsible for taking the prisoners to the clinic had an insulting behavior on November 20. This was told to the guardian of the ward 350 and he supported the prisoners.”He said: “afterwards, Mr. Farmani the commander of the prison guards has come and beaten the guardian and then threatened and insulted him. The conflict ended when the prison security forces came there and a number of prisoners were called to testify to the security building.”

Zavala-Rodriguez is also charged with conspiracy to transport aliens and transporting an alien for personal financial gain.

Currently in custody, both men are expected to make an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott Hacker tomorrow, at which time the government expects to request their continued detention pending further criminal proceedings.

The indictment, returned on Wednesday, alleges that on or about October 23, 2013, the men did knowingly forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, and interfere with a U.S. Border Patrol agent while he was performing his official duties. The agent required medical attention but survived.

The three-count indictment also alleges that Zavala-Rodriguez conspired to transport as well as transporting an alien who had entered and remained in the United States illegally for the purpose of commercial advantage and private financial gain.

If convicted of the assault on the officer, each faces up to 20 years in prison and a possible $250,000 fine. Zavala-Rodriguez further faces an additional 10-year possible sentence on each of the remaining two charges, upon conviction, as well as a $250,000 fine.

The case was investigated by FBI and the Laredo Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Homero Ramirez.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Sanaa (AFP) - A young Saudi woman on Sunday urged a Yemeni court to let her stay and marry the man she loves, defying norms in both deeply conservative countries.

In a case reminiscent of Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, Huda al-Niran, 22, defied her family and crossed the border illegally to be with her beloved.
As she pleaded her case to be able to stay and marry Arafat Mohammed Tahar, 25, her supporters demonstrated outside the Sanaa courthouse, sporting headbands proclaiming "We are all Huda."
The lovers' plight has gripped imaginations in both Yemen and Saudi Arabia, where the young woman's courage is seen as astonishing.
She not only went against the wishes of her family, who said she could not marry Tahar, but also dared to flee the country and follow him to Yemen.
In court, she refused to accept a lawyer provided by the Saudi embassy, fearing pressure to return home.

A Yemeni shows his support for a Saudi woman during her trial in Sanaa, on November 24, 2013 (AFP Ph …

But Huda did accept to be represented by a lawyer appointed by a Yemeni non-government organisation called Hood, who said he hoped for a favourable outcome.
"This is a humanitarian case, and must not raise tensions between the two countries," lawyer Abdel Rakib al-Qadi told AFP.
He indicated that Sanaa had come under pressure from the Saudi authorities to ensure Huda's return.
She is currently under arrest and on trial for illegal entry. If found guilty, she faces expulsion.
No decision was announced on Sunday, and the court set the next hearing for December 1 as it awaited a UN High Commissioner for Refugees ruling on a request for asylum.
A UNHCR representative confirmed to AFP that Huda had initiated proceedings to be granted refugee status in Yemen.
If she succeeds, it will be difficult for the authorities in Yemen to expel her.
Huda's case has also come to the attention of the New York-based Human Rights Watch.
On November 19, HRW urged Yemen not to repatriate her and to take into consideration the fact that returning to her family could put her life at risk.

"She fears physical harm from her family members, whom she said have beaten her in the past, if she is returned to Saudi Arabia," HRW said in a statement

Saturday, November 23, 2013

A golden eagle flies over a wind turbine on a Duke Energy wind farm in Converse County, Wyo., in April.

By Dina Cappiello, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- The government for the first time has enforced environmental laws protecting birds against wind energy facilities, winning a $1 million settlement Friday from a power company that pleaded guilty to killing 14 eagles and 149 other birds at two Wyoming wind farms.
The Obama administration has championed pollution-free wind power and used the same law against oil companies and power companies for drowning and electrocuting birds. The case against Duke Energy Corp. and its renewable energy arm was the first prosecuted under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act against a wind energy company.

"In this plea agreement, Duke Energy Renewables acknowledges that it constructed these wind projects in a manner it knew beforehand would likely result in avian deaths," Robert G. Dreher, acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division, said in a statement Friday.